Forever & Always
by Aliuvial
Summary: Hello, my name is Samantha West. Welcome to the beginning of the end of my story… This is a story of loss, anger, regret, and love. My story is not all happy but, it's also not all sad. I'm hoping, praying like hell, that when my story ends, it will end happy… For you know what they say right? The bitterest tears are shed over graves for words left unspoken and deeds left undone.


**I do NOT own Bleach or its characters!**

**I do own the story line/plot.**

**This is rated T for now…**

**This story is NOT a sexual story... :3**

**THIS IS NOT A YAOI STORY! Sorry if that makes you sad! :/**

_Hello, my name is Samantha West. Welcome to the beginning of the end of my story… This is a story of loss, anger, regret, and love. My story is not all happy but, it's also not all sad. I'm hoping, praying like hell, that when my story ends, it will end happy… For you know what they say right? __**The bitterest tears are shed over graves for words left unspoken and deeds left undone**__. I guess I should also tell you a little about myself then too, huh? My full name is Samantha Marie West. I am seventeen years old and move to Karakura Town, Japan from a little town called Spring Valley, Wisconsin in the United States. I wear black glasses with a flower design on the bows that cover pale blue eyes. My hair falls down to the middle of my breast in random waves of dark brown, light brow, and golden brown. I'm also five feet and ten inches tall… Now, let's get on with my story shall we?_

**3rd Person POV**

Samantha West doesn't really know or even understand why Aizen Souske and Gin Ichimaru came after her… What do they hope to gain from the human substitute soul reaper captain? Sam doesn't need to think about this whole thing right now anyway… Why? Because she is tied up like a fucking dog on a chain. A special kind of rope has her hands tied together so casting any kind of kido is out of the question while a red collar is around her neck with a leash attached to it. Shoving her wandering thoughts from her mind Sam focuses back on her task at hand. Tugging at the collar around her neck once more Sam growls in anger. She was struggling to get it off before Aizen decided to either steal her away or maybe even kill her. The little red collar is tight enough to dig into your skin slightly when you swallow or move your head but loose enough to not draw blood… yet. A strong jerk of the leash silences Sam's struggles at the collar digs into her Adam's Apple with enough force that the sensitive skin breaks causing a little trickle of blood to drip down. Aizen's voice scratches at Sam's ear canals making her want to shake with anger.

"Now you be a good little girl, Samantha and I won't have Gin kill off Kisuke's little lover." At the mention of Kisuke, Samantha tries to stand but a hard tug and a few words from Aizen starts something. Sam has never felt anything like it before… Words cannot describe what is happening to her right now… It feels as if though her soul is being ripped apart, her spiritual pressure is being sucked from her body and the screams of her Zanpakto are heavy and wild in her ears. The tears of her zanpakto's anger, sorrow, and pain rattle her very soul. Reaching a shaky hand into her captain's haori, Sam pulls out the tessen that has been hiding there. She opens her pale pink lips to speak.

"I release you, Hikari. You are free." Her voice breaks at the end. Aizen tugs sharply at the collar screaming,

"No, I needed your powers!" He begins to suck her spiritual pressure again but this time? Sam does not struggle. Sam has yet to shed tears… She does not notice her own pain. Sam notices only the pain of her friends, her family. She looked around… Who is that man? Samantha stares at a man with long black hair that spikes all the way down past his lower back. Was her memory slipping? She felt she knew everyone here but... What were their names? Suddenly an angry voice begins to speak.

"Kisuke is going to kill me for letting this happen!" Sam's eyes wander up to lock pale blue orbs with warm chocolate ones. The boy is tied down with Yourichi, Chad, Soi-Fon and another man. Who is that other guy holding him down? Who is that other man? He yells again at the people holding him captive.

"LET ME GO! I promised Kisuke that I'd protect my sister at all costs!" The boy struggles ruthlessly under their powerful strength. Sam notices eyes widen and slightly cast a side glance at Ichigo before turning all attention back to Aizen and Gin. Some eyes rests on the unmoving body of Hikari while other travel to Sam herself. The boy has silent tears streaming down his face, his eyes are burning with an angry fire and he claws at the ground with his hands as he tries to get away.

"Tell him I'm sorry and," Silent tears fall as she speaks to Ichigo… Wait, how does she know this strangers name? "Also say that I'll be back as soon as possible." Then she smiles a smile so bright it was as if the clouds had parted and you caught a glimpse of heaven. All the sadness and pain in her friends dulled slightly. Suddenly, Aizen decided to finish what he had started. Sucking the rest of her power Sam began to change. Her long brown hair was a little lighter and longer, her outfit consisted of Blue Canyon River blue jeans, a Green Bay Packer T-shirt along with black flip flops. Aizen snaps the leash to the right and sends Sam flying across the dirt. She bounces a few times before coming to a stop on her stomach, eyes glazed over, breath gone from her body… Even all her soul reaper powers are gone from her now crumpled human form. As she slowly drifts in and out of unconsciousness she thinks she hears someone yelling her name but she doesn't recognize the voice.

"SAAAAAM!" The voice is like a whisper far away. Sam is too far gone to even think about anything anymore. She is falling into darkness so heavy that she thought she was dead. Floating in the space in between life and death, or maybe it's the space between hell and heaven? She doesn't know. Floating through the air Sam feels a calm settle over her.

"If this is death, I regret nothing except that I did not get to say goodbye properly…" The she was falling again and everything blanked…

**Samantha's POV**

I started from my deep slumber with a cold sweat covering my body. What was up with that nightmare? Rubbing my sleep eyes I yawn into the darkness of my room. I had been in Japan for a few months and I had become really good friends and Ichigo, Orihime, Tatski, Keigo, Chad, and Ishida… It helped that Orihime was kind of like a sister to me and I had known her for years before even thinking of coming to Japan. Orihime was kind enough to let me stay with her since she had an extra bedroom and I had my own money to buy a bed, food, and other essentials. She never told her distant Aunt that I had moved in with her thought because she was afraid that he Aunt would stop paying for her housing and stuff like that. Rubbing my eyes I hear Orihime pad to my door and knock lightly…

"S'open Hime, ya' can come in." I draw out my sentence tiredly to her. Orihime opens the door before poking her head in. Her orange head of hair was up in a messy bun with a bandana holding her hair back out of her face, and there is a trace of a small frown on her face. Orihime doesn't feel like she is pressured to smile in front of my all the time, mostly because I get after her for that, so she doesn't pull out those huge fake smiles in front of me anymore.

"Samantha, you were screaming in your sleep again tonight." I crack open one eye and stare at Orihime.

"Why are you just standing in the doorway? It's your house Hime; you can go where ever you please." A huge yawn over takes me as Orihime steps into my room and closes the door quietly. She slowly walks over to my full sized bed, imported from when I lived in America, and I reach out my right hand to switch on my lamp. Orihime smiles gently down at me as I sit up and she hands me a giant coffee cup.

"Hot chocolate?" Hime nods a little before taking a seat on my bed with me. I smile knowingly at her before speaking.

"Thanks Hime and you know what I just thought about?" Hime turns to me with a curious glance.

"What Samantha-chan?" I smile at her.

"This hot chocolate is the color of Ichigo's eyes…" Orihime chokes a little on her hot coco before laughing.

"It kind of does doesn't it?" Orihime stares down into her cup for a while, a gentle smile on her face. I lean my head against the wall before closing my eyes. I take a sip of my hot chocolate as I feel Orihime re-arrange herself so she is next to me.

"Did you have a nightmare Samantha-Chan?" I feel my eyebrow twitch at the use of –chan after my name.

"Hime, what did I say 'bout calling me Samantha-Chan?" Orihime giggles quietly.

"Right, sorry Samantha." I smile gently again before resting down further in my spot.

"My nightmare… The whole gang was there and there were lots of others who I don't know but they all had black kimonos on and some even had white jackets over theirs with these weird symbols on the backs… Then there was me. I was on a leash attached to some whack-jobs hand and it felt like he was taking my soul away from me." I started when I felt Orihime began to shake violently. I open my eyes and turn my head towards her to realize that she is shaking so bad she might spill hot chocolate on my favorite blanket! My brow pulls together as a frown adorns my lips.

"Are you okay, Hime?" Orihime starts with a sad smile in my direction. She nods before drinking her hot coco and I know to drop the subject.

"Are you okay Samantha? I mean, these nightmares have been occurring for a month off and on..." I scratch at my chin thoughtfully before finally shrugging.

"They're just dreams right? What's the worst that could happen?" I smile brightly at Orihime who nods enthusiastically... A little bit to over the top and forced.

"Are you staying in here tonight?" I take both mine and Orihime's empty cups and set them on the table beside my bed. Orihime scratches her head while thinking.

"If you want me to..." I roll my eyes before throwing her the extra blanket on my bed. She laughs a little as she curls up on the other half of the bed.

"I want you to stay for a little while." I curl up into my spot before reaching over and turning out the light.

"Good night Hime."

"Good night Samantha. Don't forget, we have school tomorrow." I grumble to myself as Orihime giggles.

"At least we are playing a fun game in gym..." I shrug before letting sleep claim me once more. Little do I know that Orihime lays awake listening to my quiet breathing before falling asleep herself? At least the nightmare didn't come back again...

**The End of Chapter Two... Three will be a day at school but based on American schooling since I know nothing of Japanese schooling. *grins innocently* Bear with me and I hope you'll continue to follow my progress! :)**


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